


How do I look?

by Gabereader



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 13-year-old Teddy Lupin, Dinner, Family Dinners, Gen, Hufflepuff, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, Teddy likes Victoire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 09:16:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17999066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gabereader/pseuds/Gabereader
Summary: 13-year-old Teddy Lupin took a 20-minute nap at Grimmauld Place. When he got out of the shower, he saw something unexpected in the mirror.





	How do I look?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OTPshipper98](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OTPshipper98/gifts), [primaveracerezos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/primaveracerezos/gifts).



> Title: How do I look?  
> Rating: General Audiences  
> Prompt: Dinner's ready  
> Prompter: OTPShipper98  
> Beta: Primaveracerezos
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you all for reading, Marina for giving me the prompt and Primaveracerezos for beta reading.

13-year-old Teddy Lupin spent too much time looking at himself in the mirror after taking a shower. He was pale and too scared to think clearly. His hair was platinum blond, just as it was in his most recent dream. It was the first time it changed, or so he thought: he worried.

“It has to be some kind of joke!” He said to himself, “Maybe James did something to my shampoo while I took that nap!”

He dressed in muggle clothes, as usual, as if nothing rare happened to his hair. The smell of Ginny's roasted turkey and Harry's apple pie was perfuming the whole house. He found James on his way to the dining room.  
“You alright?” he asked.   
“Do I look alright?” Teddy's voice sounded as worried as he felt about his new look.   
“You've looked worse,” James teased.   
Teddy's eyes opened widely. “Really? I mean… is it that bad?”  
James couldn’t keep his trademarked mischievous grin for himself. “Victoire will like it. You don't need to worry, bud!”  
“Is she actually coming?” Teddy asked, on the brink of a nervous collapse. “I…I need to hide it, James! Quickly!”  
“It actually suits you, bud!” James said, seriously. Teddy knew he meant it this time. “But if you want to hide it...I can lend you one of my beanie hats.”

As Teddy and James went out of the room they shared during Teddy's visits to Grimmauld Place, Harry called, his voice amplified via sonorus charm:“DINNER WILL BE SERVED IN FIVE MINUTES. EVERYONE'S PRESENCE IS REQUIRED AT THE DINING ROOM.”

“Yikes!” Teddy whispered as they walked side by side down the hall. James laughed a little as he felt Teddy's body tensing up next to him.   
“Could you please not to worry this much?” James asked. “Mum dyed her hair once for Thanksgiving! It is not a big deal!”  
“She did it intentionally, Jaimie! I woke up like this after a 20-minute nap!” Teddy panicked as they went down the stairs.   
“Aren't Hufflepuffs supposed to be sure of themselves? Like… comfortable with who they are and how they look?” James asked, half serious and half joking. “This is your chance to prove your house pride!”  
“Is everything okay, Teddy?” Harry asked, as he saw Teddy wearing a mustard-like yellow Holyhead Harpies beanie hat that covered his hair completely.  
“Yes, uncle Harry. It is!” he said, a little too anxiously for his liking.   
Harry smiled at his godson before going back to the kitchen.  
“You think he suspects something?” asked Teddy, nervously, as soon as his godfather was too far to hear them.  
“You’re panicking again, Ted!” James said, his voice low. “Don't do that! Act normally!”  
“Sorry, I just happened to dye my hair platinum as I was sleeping!”   
“Sorry...You did what, sweetheart?” Ginny asked, sweetly, as she passed by them on her way to checking the turkey on the kitchen.   
“Yikes!” Teddy whispered once again.   
“Nothing, mum. He just read it on a muggle book,” James said, trying to save him.  
“Oh, really?” Ginny retorted, as she sat next to Teddy. “Would you tell me the title of the book, love?”  
Teddy was trapped. He knew it. He tried to think of some random book from his grandfather's library, but no title came to him.  
“I can't!” he said, lowering his head to the table in front of him.  
“You can tell me, sweetheart!” Ginny said, caressing his back softly. “Or show me if you want…”  
Teddy gulped soundly. Hiding anything from Ginny Potter was useless, Teddy had learnt it the hard way some years ago. He knew she was capable of reading him as she would read any children of hers: like an open book written in all caps. As always.  
“I… don't know what happened, aunt Ginny! I really don't!” he said, unsure of how to confess.   
“You said you did something up there, below the beanie hat?” Ginny smiled sweetly, as if to prove him she wasn't mad at all.  
“I woke up like this” he said, taking the hat off his hair. His eyes were closed and he breathed out, emptying his lungs from a breath he didn't know he was holding. “I thought it was a prank at first, but James didn't do anything.”  
“Oh, dear!” Ginny laughed a little. “I knew this day would come sooner or later!”  
“What do you mean by that?” James asked, a little lost. “You aren't going to freak out or something?”  
“I would never freak out at this. And you shouldn't either, Teddy.”  
“He shouldn't? I would totally freak out if I suddenly woke up with aunt Fleur's hair color!!” said James.  
“Jamie's right, aunt Ginny!” Teddy said. “It is weird!”  
“Oh, no love! In your case, this changes are a wonderful gift given to just a bunch of wizards all over the world!” said Ginny, tears forming in her eyes.  
“You okay, mum?” asked James.  
“I will be, dear. Don't mind me,” she said, smiling, wiping some little tears out of her eyes.  
“Your mom preferred hers purple, y'know?”  
“Her...hair?”  
“She was unique and badass,” said Ginny. “Never got along with rules, blood statuses, or any social conventions, for that matter.”  
“She had purple hair? Like eggplant purple?” James asked.  
“No. Hers was more like pastel purple, but it turned darker when she was mad or worried. She left it dark during all the war.”  
“Grandma hadn't mentioned mum's changing hair color” Teddy said, “She said it was weird, but I thought she meant it was messy”.  
“If it was messy or not, it depended on her humor, or even on weather,” said Ginny. “It was part of her unpredictableness.”  
“Grandma told me about her being a mess sometimes,” he laughed.  
“How is it a gift?” James asked, his voice faster than normal. He was excited.  
“Some wizards and witches have the capacity of changing their appearance without using Polyjuice Potion. It runs down their DNA, just like magic itself.”  
“Cool!” James and Teddy said at unison.   
“You inherited that capacity from her, sweetheart. The day your father told everyone the news of your birth, he mentioned that you changed your hair color several times in less than five minutes! It was wonderful!”  
“Wow!” Teddy reacted. “Was he really proud of me for doing it?”  
“Oh, dear! Of course he was!” said Ginny “Being a metamorphomagus is nothing to be ashamed of! In fact, some people would give all galleons of the world to be able to change their appearance without drinking Polyjuice!”  
“Would they?” James asked.  
“Well, Polyjuice Potion doesn’t exactly taste like candy, you know?”  
“I heard it was powerful, but...no one ever talks about its flavor,” added Teddy.  
“It is powerful, indeed. Hermione concocted it during my first year at Hogwarts, but neither Harry nor Hermione nor Ron keep a good memory of its flavor.”   
“So… if I want to change my hair color back...”  
“I am not a metamorphomagus, love. But I think that if you actually want it… you can just picture yourself with another hair color…”  
“Is it really that simple?” asked James.  
“No, it isn't. I spent almost an hour trying to change it back to original before getting dressed,” Teddy mentioned.  
“Maybe you can turn it blue, Ted! That would be awesome!” James suggested.   
“You just relax, sweetheart,” Ginny assured “You can turn it whatever color or hairstyle you want. It'll always be okay as long as you like how it looks.”   
Teddy closed his eyes and tried to calm his thoughts. Thinking of his mother having the same ability helped him to cope with it. Change happened as he relaxed. When he opened his eyes, James was smiling next to him.  
“Wow. It's awesome! Told you!” said James.  
Teddy smiled broadly.   
“How do I look?” he asked, grinning from ear to ear.


End file.
